Top 5 Banff Helicopter Tours: A Bird’s-Eye View
Banff National Park, a true gem nestled in the Canadian Rockies, really shows off views that will take your breath away. That majestic setting calls out to adventure seekers and folks craving awesome scenery. Very few experiences can offer you the type of intense perspectives of its craggy peaks, glittering glaciers, and those deep turquoise lakes similar to what you get on a helicopter tour. So, if you’re musing over various methods to experience all this grandeur, let’s look into why a helicopter tour is a solid bet, before we touch on a roundup of the very best Banff has to offer.
Why Pick a Helicopter Tour in Banff?
Consider it a private screening, only you’re seeing nature’s biggest hits instead of movies! Walking or riding gives you scenery at eye level, which is pretty good. Banff helicopter excursions, yet, offer visuals so sprawling and extensive that hiking simply could not deliver it. Consider snapping photos from distances just impossible when you’re stuck on solid ground, plus access into remote areas deep within the park. Oh, it is also quite the efficient adventure! A brief flight can encompass ground usually needing days upon days to hike through.
See those hard-to-reach turquoise lakes sitting up high that photographers lose sleep over? Check ’em out without breaking a sweat. See how some tours can put you down in high alpine meadows to let you actually walk on the unspoiled land? Well it is, like, an immersive moment most visitors barely get to think about.
Choosing Your Tour: What to Think About
Okay, you are sold, you actually would love some sightseeing in a chopper. What comes next? First things first: safety. Seek companies with strong safety documentation along with positive feedback. After safety checks come the options, too it’s almost as diverse as selecting from every cereal variety at a store! Some tours are brief tasters giving you peak glimpses, yet, others invest much more time, flying further afield with additional landing opportunities as chances arise.
Really think about what parts intrigue you most. Do glaciers give you goosebumps, is that mountain peaks make your jaw drop or are valleys the backdrop your spirit craves? A bit more pricey choices usually mean more flight time and landing spot visits. Also consider what commentary is like; the right pilot makes an informative guide enhancing the excitement significantly, and just so you know? A guided scenic journey is what you are truly purchasing.
Top 5 Helicopter Tours in Banff National Park
Alright, time for a curated lineup that should, basically, tickle pretty much everyone’s travel desires! I chose tours covering the park’s treasures, from the Columbia Icefield’s frozen majesty to scaling Mount Assiniboine like some great pinnacle. Check ’em out!
1. The Columbia Icefield Tour
It seems like this trip goes beyond a view—it’s almost a rendezvous alongside giants made entirely of ice. Flying across the Columbia Icefield grants those sights that humble and shrink visitors at once. Seriously huge ice sheets flowing between mountains could make mortals appear no bigger than specs below. You get a wide angle of the Athabasca Glacier. The sheer expanse proves impossible through ground excursions, really putting how amazing those Canadian Rockies can truly be in front!
Make sure to bring polarized lenses for your shades for minimizing reflected glare. Besides that, prep for sharp contrasts; high alpine zones can get really sun-soaked but shadows cut sharply between features to define every feature as features do.
2. Mount Assiniboine Expedition
Oh, Mount Assiniboine is, basically, what one calls “Matterhorn of the Rockies” – this tour takes you very near and personal alongside that beauty’s striking silhouette. What’s awesome about taking choppers over those paths happens with elevation perks you obtain during approach toward “Assiniboine;” viewpoints become gradually more pronounced with the ascent and a final angle reveals what pictures alone can not convey.
Think, seeing it from a seat within an exclusive viewpoint which offers glimpses no hiking path could find! Many operators bundle this package by adding highland stopovers – Picture this, champagne lunch served, casually now and then! It’s possible to walk along untouched meadow edges that almost only winged explorers have gotten a good look. So this excursion really creates those unforgettable memories that many barely find because it gets so immersive!
3. The Three Sisters Peaks Adventure
Those iconic “Three Sisters” forming that postcard worthy section around Canmore may provide stunning photo shots just from beneath… until taking wing over such trio starts. Very personal perspectives unfold allowing views straight back toward craggy faces; light bounces dramatically to give life to their textured surface. Did you want an exciting backdrop to make memories? A helicopter jaunt does all the justice! Really picture snapping aerial selfies besides natural monoliths. Next step? Boom – Social media will surely go wild.
You should really keep watch for resident eagles sometimes perched atop. They do use thermals caused off those peaks as highways themselves as creatures usually do! And as these tours always go, remember to get that camera on continuous snap. Just don’t miss anything memorable occurring. In fact, that sounds like an extremely simple task to tick off!
4. Spray Valley and Kananaskis Explorer
Very few realize what lies southward; beyond just what everyone labels “Banff,” some similarly epic terrain sprawls. Namely—Spray Valley Provincial Park beside Kananaskis Country; this adventure spreads outwards displaying wild beauty hardly anyone finds. The mountains show raw, untamed aspects. You may even see animal sightings; viewing moose herds from higher-up will feel almost as you stumbled inside wildlife programs, quite like someone being privileged because they got early tickets.
This specific itinerary suits photograph enthusiasts desiring something quite unspoiled; try picking trips which include mid-air pauses where you can click the area using less turbulence.
5. The Ultimate Park Tour: Banff, Yoho & Kootenay
Think about getting a giant scoop combining, not one single national treasure… yet actually incorporating trio spanning these very parklands inside just an extraordinary long journey! That lengthy option lets viewers drink sights starting right through glacier laced sights past to places filled up with evergreen stands and across shimmering alpine lakes. As most say about tasting something incredible– expect constant disbelief! Because something really stands in opposition to belief.
For something special? Seek providers who stop briefly for picnics up in quiet high country; nothing compares to eating quietly beside breathtaking ranges then flying onward during such unbelievable fashion which will never fail bringing moments filled solely alongside happiness!